34% of workers surveyed in Waterloo region mull quitting in the next 6 months

More people than ever say they are fed up with their jobs and looking for greener pastures and better work-life balance.

That's according to a new report from YMCA Workwell that found a majority of workers in Waterloo region (76 per cent) are feeling stressed, burned-out and under appreciated.

It's a worrying trend for employers that experts across the country are calling the "great resignation."

More than a third of workers (34 per cent) who took part in the survey say they're actively looking to leave or are open to leaving their jobs within the next six months. 

While 65 per cent say their workload has become a significant source of stress.

A 2021 YMCA WorkWell Workplace Well-Being Report identified workload as the biggest threat to employee well-being going into 2022.

"People are completely exhausted and burned-out after the past two plus years of dealing with the the chronic uncertainty and the changes to work life and home life, basically, all aspects of our life that we've been living through," said Kate Toth, director of learning and development at YMCA WorkWell.

Toth says more and more people have been questioning what they want out of life and more importantly, how work fits into it.

"For many people, it has provided an opportunity to say: where do I want to work and how do I want to feel when I'm at work and how do I want to work? Where do I want to work from? I think all of those things are driving what we're seeing with the 'great resignation.'"

Toth says for workplaces that are hoping to retain workers, a little appreciation goes a long way.

"When employees feel appreciated, even if they're starting to feel some of those effects of burnout, they're more likely to remain committed to their organizations and their roles."

Toth says a really great place for employers to focus is on creating a culture of appreciation that permeates the entire organization.

But she said appreciation isn't a one-way street and shouldn't stop at just leaders to team members.

"It's also peer to peer and employees to their leaders, because everyone needs to feel appreciated for who they are and what they do at work," she said.